Not ALL retailers are struggling

One big name – Wal-Mart is actually doing quite well – with increasing profits.

The ones who aren’t doing well? Well it appears to me they’re the stores that specialize…and are charging more for items when someone can hop on over to a place like Wal-Mart and get it for cheaper.

People are still spending their money, they’re just doing it in places that make more sense.

I know I think a little harder before I head out to the store…I go where I know my dollar will buy me the most.

Struggling retailers need to get a clue and adjust to the times we’re currently living in. A combination of a stale economy and the fear that is being instilled in people is causing them to spend less and to be smarter about what they do spend. And if the intelligence in the corporate offices of these big-name retailers can’t find a way to bring that business into their stores, then they don’t deserve to be open.

Oh…and customer service matters. People ARE willing to pay more in a store if they are treated well and the environment is conducive to shopping. Circuit City has done a horrid job on both fronts. I’ve been in several different locations over the past few years, and each is a carbon copy. The store is disorganized, the staff is generally unhelpful and unfriendly, and the prices are more expensive than their competitors. WHY would choose to spend my money there? Well it has caught up with them, and now they have to find a way out of the hole they dug for themselves.

I think this is one situation you can’t blame on the economy – they brought this on themselves.